La Neuveville means Newtown. The German speaking Swiss call it Neuenstadt, while it was first mentioned in 1314 as Nova-Villa. So the ‘Neuvevillers’ are pretty steadfast as far as the name of their town is concerned. Surrounded by vineyards, it lies on the shores of Lake Biel.
Six years ago La Neuveville hosted its last stage start on the Tour de Romandie. The race went to Fribourg, where Stefan Küng won from the breakaway.
This time the riders set off for Saint-Imier and it has also been six years since the Tour de Romandie last visited this small watchmaking town in the Jura Mountains. The Col de la Vue des Alpes served as the last climb. It was crested with 15.2 kilometres remaining before Michael Albasini outsprinted a reduced peloton ahead of Jarlinson Pantano and Julian Alaphilippe. The current World Champion was 22 years old back then.
The 2nd stage is a lumpy test. Actually, only the first 20 kilometres take place on the flat, the route goes either up or down for the rest of the day. The last climb of 2015 returns in the finale. It’s 7.8 kilometres long and averages 6.7% before the riders fly down to the last kilometres on the flat.
Another interesting read: results 2nd stage Tour de Romandie.
Tour de Romandie 2021 – stage 2: route, profile, more
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